


And If My Armor Breaks, I'll Fuse It Back Together

by Farisya



Series: Let's Be Alone Together [2]
Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Family Dynamics, M/M, One Shot, Sex mentioned, Tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-08-06 06:24:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16383002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Farisya/pseuds/Farisya
Summary: One-shot inspired by a post on tumblr.The Hansen family doesn't fight wars without leaving marks on themselves.Not completely necessary to read the parent fic, but I recommend it.Enjoy!





	And If My Armor Breaks, I'll Fuse It Back Together

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WeekendWriter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WeekendWriter/gifts).



> Hey, Hey, Hey! 
> 
> So @Weekend-Writer saw a post I reblogged on My Tumblr and insisted I write a one-shot about it. This is part of my PacRim AU and you don't necessarily need to read the original fic to get it, but I highly recommend it. 
> 
> This got a lot angstier than expected and a bit dirty too....so, uh, yeah. 
> 
> So, welcome to my Hansen Family Tattoo one-shot.

\-----January 5, 2016-----

**0230 HRS, Tokyo Shatterdome, Ranger Quarters**

Uncle Scott is drunk. So very, very drunk, Chuck thinks. 

Chuck watches his father, equally six sheets to the wind, try to steady his brother and laughs. Charlotte disappeared five minutes ago to find help. She had plenty of height and strength, her last growth spurt made her taller than their father and she spent plenty of time hauling Jaeger parts around, but the Hansen brothers were a force unto themselves when intoxicated. Even with Chuck working with her, they wouldn’t be able to handle the Rangers by themselves. 

She left Chuck behind to keep them occupied. 

He’s listening to Scott’s slurring attempts to convince Herc to leave when he realizes that they are planning to _actually_ leave the Shatterdome. Chuck stumbles out of his bed and frantically searches for a pair of trousers that do not have Jaegers printed on them. 

He manages to get his boots shoved on and is using his own recent growth spurt to let his long legs carry him down the hall. Herc and Scott have already made it to the lift and are pressing every button. Chuck slips through the closing doors and loses a bootlace as the lift starts moving. 

“You two are bloody fucking idiots, you know that?” He shouts at his father and uncle. The two men just laugh. 

Herc walks the three steps between Chuck and himself carefully, like he can’t quite figure out how his boots are connecting to the ground. He places his hands on Chuck’s shoulders, now nearly even with his own, and pulls his son in for a hug. 

“We did it. We kicked its ass.”

“Yeah, I know, dad. You took the bastard down. I’m proud of you,” Chuck spoke into his father’s neck. “But I’m pretty sure medical wants you and Uncle Scott staying in the Shatterdome.”

“Medical can go fuck itself.” Scott slurred from the corner. 

Herc grunted an agreement. “He’s right. We won this fight. Every one we kill is payback.” 

None of the men in the lift needed reminding _why_ the Hansens were piloting Lucky Seven. None of them needed reminding the debt they demanded payment for in every pound of Kaiju flesh. 

The lift opened and Chuck managed to keep both his father and uncle inside. The idiots really had pressed every button. 

“So why are you two leaving the ‘Dome?”

“Tattoos.” Scott grinned in the corner like it was the answer to all their problems. 

Chuck looked back at his father and huffed out an exasperated sigh. Herc already had a half dozen tattoos, relics of his youth with Scott and his wife and his time with the RAAF. Each one signified an important moment in his father’s life. 

“Charlotte’s gonna kill you, dad.” 

“Your sister’s too serious.” Scott griped in the corner. “She needs to loosen up.” 

Herc frowned at his brother and then regarded his son slowly, like he wasn’t quite sure who he was looking at. 

The lift doors opened again and again as Chuck stared his father down. Finally, they opened onto the main floor of the ‘Dome. Herc looked Chuck over and then at Scott. The damned ghost drift Dr. Lightcap talked about was riding them hard. There was no way to resist the pull of Scott’s thoughts. None. 

“I’m going with you.” Chuck announced. 

\-----Four Hours Later-----

Chuck looked on as the wrinkled old man gently passed the ink over his father’s shoulder. Scott was drunkenly passed out in the corner, his own right shoulder already bandaged up. He hadn’t even made it through the line work before his head dropped and Herc needed to prop him up. 

Herc, mostly sober now, was watching the man work with laser-focus. Chuck was fascinated. Every time the needle passed over his father’s skin, he could see a little bit of tension bleed out of his father’s shoulders. 

The tiny Chinese man had welcomed the drunken Jaeger pilots with quiet acceptance of their inebriation. He waved off any attempts at payment, telling Chuck that Lucky Seven’s victory the day before had saved his daughter’s family. Even the two Yakuza in the corner seemed in awe of the pilots, right up until Scott ruined it by drooling on his chin. They left, but not without clapping the teenager on the shoulder and insisting that he trust them to get the trio home safely. The Yakuza owed the Jaeger pilots a debt too, it seemed. 

As the man pulled away and reached for a clean cloth, Herc’s eyes dropped and a silent sob wracked his entire body. Chuck blanched and it was only the stern look of the tattoo artist that made him stay still. He wasn’t used to his father crying. This was as terrifying to him as watching Charlotte breakdown. None of the Hansens had a particularly good reputation for healthy emotions. 

“Dad?” He whispered. 

“It’ll never be enough. Never. They took too much and killing them will never be enough.” Herc’s broken voice made Chuck’s heart seize. 

The Lucky Seven tattoo and yesterday’s date tattooed underneath seemed appropriate now. It was a reminder. A promise. 

 

\-----March 4, 2019-----

**0350 HRS, The Kwoon, Sydney Shatterdome**

“You’re dropping your left shoulder.” 

Charlotte snapped to attention, her staff swinging to connect with her father’s own raised weapon. 

“You shouldn’t do that.” 

“And you’re still awake.” 

She held her father’s gaze, long since afraid of the disapproving look on his face. Too many hours in the drift would do that to you. 

“Adrenaline,” Was all she managed to say. 

“Not just that.”

“No,” She admitted. 

They stood in silence for a long moment. Herc gently pried the staff away from her and gestured for her to follow him. He deposited them on one of the benches and next thing she knew Herc was tossing her boots at her. She barely missed the jacket that followed. 

“Put those on, we’re going out.” 

“Rangers aren’t supposed to leave the Dome for twenty-four hours after a drop.”

Herc gave her an unimpressed look and gestured at her boots again. She sighed and pulled them on. 

\-----

Forty minutes and quite a bit of creative exertion of power later, they were pulling up outside a nondescript shop. The building was right on the edge of the habitable zone and Charlotte could clearly see the road that used to lead to her school. She turned sharply away from the memories and towards the door her father now held open. 

“Come on.”

She followed him in and clenched her jaw. 

“A tattoo, really? This is your solution, old man?”

“Don’t call me that.” He griped as a wizened Asian man came from the back. Herc greeted the man like an old friend. Charlotte was suddenly gripped with the memory of Chuck and Scott, alcohol, and the Lucky Seven tattoo on Herc’s shoulder. 

“You want same tattoo for your daughter?” The man asked in Cantonese. 

Charlotte quirked an eyebrow at her father’s questioning look. Apparently satisfied with what he saw, he turned back to the man and nodded. 

“You come with me, please.” The man asked her in English. 

She followed, pulling her jacket off. Her father’s memories, the date of every Kaiju he killed tattooed beneath Lucky Seven’s logo, his fights with Scott, with her, with Chuck, all of it washed over her at the first touch of the tattoo gun. She didn’t flinch with the needle’s press. The pain meant nothing. 

The man worked quietly and her father stood vigil over her. 

Every pass of the needle calmed her. Each gentle swipe of cloth reminded her why she fought. The different colors finally bringing forth happy memories of her mother, her grandparents. Memories of when her family was whole.

When the man finished, she thanked him profusely in Cantonese and then let her father hug her. 

She slept the whole night through for the first time in months, finally comfortable in her own skin. 

 

\-----August 5, 2020-----

**1645 HRS, Mr. Li’s Tattoos and Piercings, Sydney, AUS**

Stella slept soundly against her Uncle Chuck’s chest as Mr. Li worked on her mother. The Lucky Seven logo on her shoulder matched Herc’s own. Charlotte had two dates beneath hers. The dates of her two kills. Tonight, on the back of her shoulder, she was adding three dates. When he saw the first two he clenched his jaw in barely concealed anger. The third was his niece’s birth date. 

Mr. Li finished and carefully taped gauze over Charlotte’s shoulder. Satisfied that it wouldn’t move he let the siblings switch places, trading Stella along the way. Chuck settled himself down and presented his shoulder to Mr. Li. Charlotte insisted he get a Lucky Seven tattoo as well. Said it didn’t matter that he never piloted the Mark I. All that mattered was that he worked on it, made sure every part worked perfectly. 

They fought about the kill dates. He didn’t want to claim them. 

Herc loomed in the corner. Chuck wondered when getting tattoos became a family tradition. 

He flinched at the first press of the needle and Mr. Li chuckled lowly. Chuck frowned and grit his teeth. He didn’t miss the grin his father flashed his way either and resolved to sit completely still for the rest of this. 

Eventually, Stella woke up, crying and hungry. Her plaintive sounds broke Chuck’s concentration and he realized that Mr. Li was nearly done with the logo, only the last patch of color left to fill. He glanced over to find his sister smiling softly at him while Herc had suspiciously wet eyes. 

The space beneath his tattoo was blank. It would remain that way. 

 

\-----April 15, 2025-----

**0800 HRS, Ranger Quarters, Hong Kong Shatterdome**

They were supposed to be in a meeting. That was all Chuck could think of for the split second it took his brain to catch up with his eyes. He was honestly surprised he and Raleigh had made it through the last three days. 

Several strategically timed and placed snogs throughout the ‘Dome had left them both acting like teenagers. The fucking bastard had even rubbed Chuck off through his trousers yesterday and made him walk back to their quarters with wet pants. Though he’d gotten his revenge at dinner when he dropped to his knees under Raleigh’s desk and sucked him off while the Seppo was on a video call with some reporter. 

They just hadn’t actually had any other kind of sex yet. 

Chuck wouldn’t dare think of what they’d already done as _not sex_ , because it totally was and there were quite a few teenaged fantasies of his getting fulfilled. But Raleigh was stripped down completely on his bed in front of him, fingers buried in his own ass and all Chuck could think was, _finally._

He stripped down like two Cat V’s were coming out of the Breach and nearly jumped on top of Raleigh. He dove straight in for a kiss and found himself held back by Raleigh’s arm. Fingers ghosted over his left shoulder and he flinched. 

“You have a tattoo.” 

“Yeah, mate. Didn’t you see it in medical?” Chuck answered, confused. He was having serious issues thinking with his big brain, what with a naked Raleigh underneath him. 

“No, you were all bandaged up from the drivesuit scarring.” 

“Oh, well, yeah,” Chuck stumbled. Again, issues with the big brain functioning. “Charlotte insisted I get it.” 

Raleigh leaned forward and licked, fucking licked, the tattoo. He paid special attention to the feedback scarring that marred the tattoo’s otherwise perfect lines. Chuck groaned and dropped his head against Raleigh’s neck. Those scars were more sensitive than they had any right to be. 

“I like it.”

“Don’t tell me you’ve got a tattoo kink.”

“Nope.”

Chuck leaned back and stared at Raleigh. “Liar.” 

The other man grinned and pulled Chuck down flush against him. After that, Chuck promptly forgot all about Raleigh’s fascination, except for every single time the American’s lips, tongue, or fingers brushed against it.

 

\-----July 30, 2035-----

**1730 HRS, Mr. Li’s Tattoos and Piercings, Sydney, AUS**

Stella Hansen stared her mother down as her uncle did the same to her grandfather. She turned sixteen in less than twelve hours, and the one thing she wanted, thanks to her Uncle Chuck’s unintentional idea, was a tattoo. A very specific tattoo. 

Chuck, predictably, loved the idea and insisted they kidnap her mother and grandfather and force them to come along. He kept muttering about family traditions. 

“This is what you want?” Herc questioned her.

“Yep,” Stella chirped. 

“And it was your idea?”

“Sort of,” Chuck admitted. “Brat agreed with it.” 

Charlotte watched them all with a smirk on her face, shaking her head. 

The shop’s door opened and the oldest man Stella ever saw hobbled out with a walker. A middle-aged man followed him out with a stern, “Grandfather.” 

“Quiet Shangdi,” The ancient old man grumbled. “You come inside now.” 

Herc practically snapped to attention at the man’s tone. Her mother and uncle both scrambled to help the man back inside. Whoever this guy was, it seemed they all knew him well.

Once inside, she understood why her Uncle Chuck insisted they come here. A large picture of her family hung in the corner, stuck between pictures of dozens of others, all of them with their Lucky Seven tattoos displayed towards the camera. As per their usual in pictures from the K-War, none of them were smiling. She clutched the drawing in her hands a bit tighter and jolted a bit as a hand landed on her elbow. 

“You have picture for me?” The old man asked. 

“Um, yeah,” She stuttered. “I mean, yes sir.” 

He gently took the paper from her hands and smiled at the drawing on it. It was a page from her sketchbook. Aunt Mako insisted she keep up her childhood obsession with drawing and, though she spent most of her time drafting new schematics for Jaegers, she would occasionally doodle something. 

Uncle Chuck saw this and loved it so much he suggested the idea of a tattoo. 

She’d drawn Striker Eureka’s silhouette, colored in with a subtle camouflage pattern that matched the Jaeger’s original paintjob. The only other color was the Jaeger’s logo, surrounding the silhouette, Max’s slobbering jaws clutching a missile. 

“What do you think, Mr. Li?” Chuck questioned. 

The elderly man raised an eyebrow at Chuck’s eagerness, which made Chuck deflate visibly. “This will take long time.”

Shangdi took the drawing and studied it closely. “You drew this?” 

Stella nodded. “Yes, sir.” 

“It is very good. How big do you think it should be?”

She glanced to her family, all of them were here with her and they would get the same tattoo, no matter what. 

“Elbow to shoulder?”

“You’re lucky I’ve got a full staff today. We can get you all done.” 

\-----The Next Day-----

The Hansens stood on the arrival line watching the jumphawk touch down. Mako and Raleigh exchanged a look at the sight of Stella sporting bandages on her right arm. They practically jumped off the helicopter as it touched down. Raleigh already jogging along to lift Stella in the air. 

“Well, how does it feel to be fifteen, kiddo?”

“My arm hurts like a bitch, but otherwise it’s the same.”

He lowered her to the ground and poked at the bandage, earning a vicious swat from the teenager. 

“Ow, asshole! Don’t poke the artwork.” 

Raleigh straightened up and locked eyes with Chuck. It was then he noticed the way the ginger held his own right arm. Mako appeared beside him and looked between all the Hansens. 

“You all got new tattoos.” 

All they managed was a nod before Hermann appeared and derailed their reunion. Stella made them swear they’d all share dinner with her. 

Hours later, she revealed the tattoo to much applause and fanfare. Raleigh studied it carefully, he didn’t want to hurt Stella. He was in awe. He knew she was a good artist, had plenty of her artwork hanging around the house she shared with him and Chuck. 

Knowing that and seeing it inked onto her skin were two different things. Especially since he knew Chuck had the same design on his right arm as well. 

Once everyone else drifted out of the mess hall and off to bed, Raleigh and Stella found themselves sitting on the Shatterdome’s roof, looking out over Sydney Harbour. 

“I could draw something for you,” Stella whispered when she caught Raleigh’s eyes lingering on her arm again. “You could get one of your own.” 

Raleigh grinned and took a pull on his beer. “Yeah? What do you think I should get then?”

“Gipsy.” She answered immediately. 

“Well now there’s a surprise from the girl with a Jaeger on _her_ arm.” 

Stella smacked him and stared back out over the water. “Every good thing in my life, most of the bad too, is because of Jaegers. I’ve never known a world without them. Striker,” she paused. “Striker was _everything_ to me. Grandpa and Uncle Chuck kept me safe with Striker and she kept them safe. She was never a machine to me. I miss her.” 

The silence sat heavy on Raleigh’s shoulders as he watched a Jaeger patrol the harbor. He couldn’t tell which one from this distance, and oh, if that wasn’t confirmation of his retirement right there, he didn’t know what was. Once upon a time he would know the model, Mark, and the Rangers inside from the configuration of its signal lights. Now…

“Gipsy,” He began, surprised at the emotion in his voice. “She was like that for me too. When Stacker brought me back—When Mako showed me her heart again for the first time since Yancy, it was like the world was right again.” 

“Uncle Chuck said he saw the two of you that night.” 

“Did he?” 

“Yeah, he was drunk last week. You know how he gets,” She rolled her eyes. Raleigh smiled. Chuck could never hold his liquor. “Anyway, he was talking about how much he missed you and about the first time he met you. Said he thought he’d lost any chance with even a hate fuck after the way you looked at Gipsy and then at Mako that night. There was some crying in the middle there.” 

Raleigh snorted, that definitely sounded like Chuck. 

“And then he said that the only things he knew you loved just as much as that Jaeger was us, your family. He said you look at us like you looked at that Jaeger. Then he pulled up footage of the fight in Hong Kong when you and Mako used the container ship as a bat. He had a lot to say about that.”

“I’m sure he did. I bet he didn’t tell you about his little one-man cheerleading session in the harbour either.” 

“Nope.” 

\-----August 3, 2035-----

Raleigh found the drawing on his pillow the day after Stella’s birthday. It was a quick sketch, but the colors, blue and red and gold, reminded him so much of that night that he had to sit down. Mako found him still sitting on the edge of his bed twenty minutes later on her way to another meeting. They didn’t speak, but she cancelled her meetings for the rest of the day. 

Charlotte insisted on going with them when she found them slipping Mako’s security detail. Then Herc saw them and decided to tag along as well. 

Shangdi took one look at the sketch and started muttering to himself about insane Ranger pilots. Mr. Li sat in the corner, grinning at his grandson. Charlotte and Herc filtered in and out, returning with snacks and running errands for Mr. Li while Shangdi worked. 

The explosion of color along Mako’s shoulder made Raleigh smile wide with the memory of their battle. The tiny cars crumpled under the end of the boat made Mako shake her head. They’d been so high on the drift that night, it was a wonder they didn’t march on the Breach immediately. 

Mr. Li didn’t offer much commentary on his grandson’s work, Shangdi was a master in his own right, but he did insist that the date of the Double Event be tattooed underneath in simple black. 

“It was the night you were both reborn,” was the only explanation he offered. 

Charlotte and Herc snuck them back into the ‘Dome that evening. Raleigh and Mako stayed up most of the night talking, and not talking. They never went more than forty-eight hours without contact, but face-to-face time like this was incredibly rare for them. 

They smiled every time they noticed their bandages. 

Chuck pulled the gauze back two days later, after Raleigh finally relented and agreed to let him see it, and shed a single tear. He firmly blamed his emotional instability on Raleigh. 

Stella tried not to cry, and failed, when she saw the tattoos. Mako hugged her. Raleigh and Chuck stood back, one arm each slung across the other’s waist. Herc and Charlotte were already gone. 

Herc back to his farm, his brother, and the six dogs he unceremoniously adopted from a shelter. 

Charlotte had kissed her daughter’s cheeks and returned to her factory in Germany. 

Raleigh and Chuck already had the bags packed at their feet. 

Mako released the teenager and pulled both men into tight hugs. 

“You take care of our girl.” 

“Don’t we always?” Chuck groused. Mako poked him in the gut, doubling him over. She relented her assault when Stella pulled him away, her bag already slung over her shoulder. 

The two former Rangers watched them go and Raleigh turned heavy eyes down on his best friend. 

“Don’t forget to call.” 

“You must not forget to pick up the phone, Raleigh.” 

“I love you, Mako.” 

She smiled at him and pulled him into a hug. He squeezed her tightly and then lifted her off the ground. Setting her back down he kissed her cheek. 

“You need to let her into the academy.” He whispered. “She’d make a great pilot.”

Mako’s eyes darted to the waiting jumphawk. “I will speak to Nate about her joining the next class.” 

“Good.” His hand drifted over the tattoo that her uniform hid completely. “I’m going to miss you.” 

“I will miss you too.”


End file.
